Combination lock



Apr- 7, w31. A. LEVINE coMmmoN Loox Filed oo t. 19, 1929 Y Z/ M/ Patented Apr. 7, 1931 'UM-:ran israfras.

Appneaeqg'jnea ,o qfmtr,L L19, 192e.YA semaine. 400,636'.H

My-present f invention frelates generally to combination-flocks and more p articularly to locks lintended'forlvuse with'y trunk, valisey OI' l; Y f `Co'n'rbination'v locks? of the ltypes -now 'igenerall-y employed are dependent upon visual indicationsy for guidance in their voperation f and as an example I make reference-to the combination ,lock described in my co-pending r,

application, Serial-Nonr364-,726,'filed on May One of the difficulties attendant upon the operation of a lock whichdepends forits guidance and operation upon visual indications, is that when employed, as for'example, 0n a trunk on the rear end of an automobile, it will be necessary to employ a source of illumination to permit of its operation, and which may bemade available only with difficulty, if at all.

v One of the objects of my invention is the provision of an arrangementin the combination lock of means whereby its operation can be guided or made dependent upon sound or feel or both and in the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed the operationis dependent upon a step by step movement given to the dial which movement is distinctly apparent to the touch and which is also ascertained by al clicking noise each time the dial is moved an increment, along with an: ar-l rangement whereby the same predetermined l starting point can always be arrived at even while in the dark.

For the attainment of the foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings wherein-.-

crFigure 1 is an elevational view partly broken away;

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken von line 2-2 of Figure 1;

higure 3 is a front view of the face plate; an

Figure 4l is a perspective ofthe dial and its spindle.

In Figure 1 of the drawing I have shown in dotted lines part of trunk elements 10 and be observedz that the dial is provided with the' reduced neclr which. in' .turn is connect.l S5

.11 (i. e. the bottom and top). These are lzeptl closed the engagement of ahasp 12 carried Y. by the body of the'trunkover ahook .18, carff -ried by the cover in the well known mannen The' hasp or hook 12,i s dependentfforit's operation uponmanual manipulationof theiff -handgri'p ,15 which in turn is.dialcontrolled;v

2O isa face plate carried by the trunk body i I andl within which the lock -mechanismf is .received. This face plate is providedwith the generallycircular opening 21 throughwhioh` isreceived thespindlevportion 22 ofthe` dial'fr .l membern23. l The'l tumblersvl(notf shown.).i..u

forming-partfof the lock mechanism to be^ received.withinl the faceplate 2O are yconi-a1 trolled in. their operation by therotation lof'. @5 l the-dialin any preferred or desiredmanner l and'lin my `co-pending application,-Serial Y #364,726 .and` above referredto, I have deggf scribed' detail: a flock, constructioniwhich could.beemployedinconnectionfwith the'dialz'w member 23' ofthe present application' and ,no 1 detailed disclosuretof such. lockV construction i is made. herein because itV is deemed un'necesf,I sary-to. anunderstanding ofmy inventionx.` a

vThe opening 21.while generally circulaire-in77:5 outline isprovided with a pluralityrof notchesk or depressions, siX beingfshowninithe illusie` z tratedaembodment. All Abuti-oneof these notchesrv arer illustrated :as alike' and further reference: will be madeto the mharacter vof these l depressions l orH notches and. the reasons, t forthe ,dissimilarity-of oneof them.V c

- Upon comparing Figures Lande itawill l ed withthe spindle. portion .22, which-is of,V ff

a still `further reduced diameternfA 'groove-m f or channel 33 islcut diametrically into:tlie

dialshank on alevel Awith and' .belownthe 1 r lower surfaceof the dial 23. .'This'will have, 90

the :groove formedthrough the neckSO. and-..;,

theadjacentportion'ofthespindle22; :ThemA I grooveis preferablyqmade .of axdepthsufliik. cient for ithe=purpose desired andfisillusrn.

tratedin: the drawings Ias extending moreff The opening 21 inlthe facer-plate2() isf'of/-affl L diameter so as to receive the spindle 22 therethrough for guided rotation therein. Those notches in the face plate which are alike, as alread referred to, and to which the reference ciaracter 26 has been applied are of a character so that as the dial is rotated, the ball 36, which is continuously spring-pressed into engagement with the wall of the opening 2l, will fall into these notches 26 and tend to resist further rotation'of the spindle and to prevent a continued rotation of the spindle except by the application ofran increased pressure and on the other hand in falling into these notches 26 the'balls will produce a clicking noise. The balls and the notches are arranged contoured and dimen sioned so as to have this desired and intended eect.

The notches 26, it will be observed, are symmetrical radially of the opening 2l. As a result of this, the cooperation of the ball 36 and the notches 26 will be the same whether the dial is moved clockwise or counterclock Wise.

The notch 27, on the other hand, has its adjacent contour portions 27 and 27 f which make up they notch 27, unsymmetrically formed. The portion 27 in the illustrated example is so contoured and dimensioned Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- In a combination lock, a dial plate having an opening therethrough, and having a series of spaced notches in the wall defining said opening, a lock cont-rolling member mounted for rotation relatively to said plate and having a portion received within said opening and whichportion serves as a bearing for said controlling member in its rotation, a spring-pressed member carried in said bearing portion and movable radially into engagement with said notche-s in succession as the lock controlling member is rotated to limit such rotation to successive increments of movement, said spring f pressed member being conned within said bearing portion and wholly inaccessible from the eX- terior of the lock, and one of said notches having means for preventing movement of the lock controlling member in one direction.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

ABRAHAM LEVINE.

that when the ball 36 is received in the notch 27 any clockwise movement of the dial will be prevented and the dial will be locked against further clockwise movement when this position is reached. The wall portion 27', on the other hand, is so sloped and contoured that with the dial positioned' as set forth, no substantial resistance will be offered to the counter-clockwise movement of the dial and the ball will be able to freely ride over this contour.

From the description above given the operation of my device will be understood. Let us assume that the combination is three to the left, that is counter-clockwise, and two to the right, that is clockwise, and that the combinationv is to be operated in the dark. A person moves the dial clockwise until it is locked against further movement, which will happen when the ball 36 moves into the notch 27. He then starts moving the dial counter-clockwise and as the ball moves into the first notch 26 to the left of 27 a clicking will be heard and in addition this happening will be obvious because of the slightly increased resistance. A further increment of movement is given to the dial upon which a further clicking will be heard and then a third movement in the same direction with a third clicking. The clockwise movement is then begun, the successive increments of movement being indicated to the finger by the change in the resistance and to the ear by the clicking noise. The combination will thus have been eected and the trunk lock freed for manual'operation. 

